FVJen

Connor and Marissa

Full review on Fiction Vixen Book Reviews

Tempted Again by Cathie Linz is a second chance story. Marissa has moved back home after a messy divorce on her one year anniversary, after being let go from her job and in the final insult losing her home because of money issues. She takes a job at the local library and moves in with her parents. Not exactly what she had in mind after leaving home 10 years before. On her way back into town she accidentally drives through the town parade route and is pulled over by the local sheriff. In another bad turn of fate the sheriff is Connor Doyle, the boy who took her virginity, and he doesn’t even recognize her.

Connor took the job in Hopeful, Ohio because he burned out in Chicago. He had seen too many ugly things and people as a narcotics cop and needed to start a new life. He believes small town cop is the way to go because what can happen in a small town? Of course that was before Marissa came back to town.

I am a fan of the second chance romance. This one was kind of strange though. Marissa was just immediately angry and hostile with Connor. She caught her ex cheating and seems to transfer all her resentment towards men directly on to Connor. It would have been ok if their dialogue was done in a funny, sexy way but Marissa just came across as a cranky bitch. For the first third of the book I didn’t see how the relationship could possibly go anywhere because she was just not a pleasant person. Ever.

Connor and Marissa are thrown together in a variety of situations. Marissa inadvertently rents the apartment next to his, they are put together on a town project and other various things happen. I never really felt the chemistry between them. There were no flashbacks that helped me see how they were before and maybe a way they could get back there. When they would accidentally brush hands the author would talk about the sparks but as a reader I just didn’t feel them. I didn’t even care when they had their first moment. I think I was just over them by then.

It wasn’t just Connor and Marissa that bugged me either. Everyone in the book seemed so angry. Marissa’s mom is going through menopause and doesn’t get along with her dad. Marissa and her dad have major father daughter issues. Marissa and her sister seem to be very adversarial with each other. Connor’s mom severely dislikes his dad. There just wasn’t much feel good to around in this one.

I really never got into the book. The dialogue wasn’t funny or witty. It just brought me down as did most of the characters. This book just didn’t really work for me. Final grade- D